Freedom Is All I Want
by Moony the Mature One
Summary: "Inherited Will, The Destiny of the Age, and The Dreams of the People. As long as people continue to pursue the meaning of Freedom, these things will never cease to be!" - Gol D. Roger". As I found myself in a world different from my own, my wish for freedom led me down a path I would never forget. It led me into a tornado of adventures, of tales, of dreams. Self-Insert.
1. Chapter 1

**My first shot at a Self-Insert fanfic. This was inspired by Sol Invictus, an amazing femLuffy SI fanfic by Toraffle. Obviously, I will not self-insert myself in Luffy because that fanfiction was too awesome to compare. So here's the first chapter of a new fanfiction by Moony! Don't expect an update sometime soon though (Edit 11/26/2016: I lied, I got invested into this oops). Happy Reading!**

 **Edit 11/26/2016: Oh shoot you know what I forgot? Disclaimer! I don't own One Piece, the franchise nor the actual treasure! Roger and Oda both hid it too well!**

 **Word Count: 782**

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Chapter One

I do not remember what exactly happened that brought me to this world. After all, death was simply another adventure and the cause of it was just another thing lost inside a whirlwind of memories from my previous life. I might have died in a stereotypical car crash or dove off a building like how I've imagined in my high school days. All I know is that for a moment my mind fell into a bout of darkness before I was suddenly aware of the soft blanket swaddling my body, the warmth it filled me contrasting to the previous frigid air of death.

Consciousness slowly trickled in. I could hear the soft whispering of a woman in a language I could not recognize and as I slowly opened my eyes, I could see the vague outline of a face. I could not distinguish their exact features from those other beings who were surrounding me. All that registered in my mind was that I was no longer in the place I was before. Emotions no longer in my control, I wailed with the might of a toddler, my mind dimly registering the high pitched sound that seemed to come from myself. I could hear panicked voices and reassuring ones around me. My eyes watered, my weak arms thrashed and grabbed at nothing before they dropped, exhausted, onto the blanket. I quieted down and peered about anxiously. My eyesight was bad and I could not see out the window from which a gentle breeze flowed in. Slowly, the steady sound of waves lulled me back to sleep.

That was my first conscious day of existence in the world that I live in now. As a gust of wind played around with my hair, I was once again reminded of how strange this world is. The people, the trees, the buildings, and even myself all have a strange appearance, as if I was viewing the world through a thin screen of glass. The images I saw were different from the memories I have of a previous life. These memories of my past life flew through my mind every night. I could remember each emotion that I felt in my memories poignantly. However, the view I saw since my birth seemed unreal, cartoonish, like each image I've seen and watched on those anime shows I loved so much. They did not possess the realistic feel that I was used to. True, my five senses were intact and the wind felt just as real as before, but the colours were often too simple, lacking the nuance of indescribable gradients I saw in the memories of my past life. The language was also strange, as the people spoke in a common language that I did not understand. Yet, I recognized several words that resemble English, French, and other languages present in my dreams. They spoke a weird mixture of those languages and as I try to emulate the tongues spoken by the people around me, I came to truly appreciate a toddler's ability to learn so quickly.

As for the couple who raised me in this world, they were rarely present in my life. I could tell from the decor of the house that they were loaded with money, but I couldn't connect with them. In fact, added to their absence, I longed more for my old parents. They had cherished me and loved me and I, a petty child, had being aloof and moody from my adolescence onward. As much as I wanted to return their love now, it was too late. They belonged to a world I knew I would not be going back to anytime soon. Now, in this world, Fate left me in the hands of rich parents who did not care about me other than the fact that I was a girl and was to marry another noble a few houses away from the mansion. I heard them a few nights ago as they were discussing some kind of a marriage contract. I did not want a contract. I did not want to be bound to another person when I was still physically a little girl who hasn't even lived a decade yet.

What I truly wanted in this world was adventure and love. I found those aspects very much lacking in the dull, silent mansion I lived in. I wished to explore the world and to grasp freedom in my hand. I wished to be surrounded with a loving family blood-related or not. Thus came to birth my yearn for freedom and love. This wish brought me a tornado of adventures, and this tale that I shall call my second life.

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 **End of Chapter 1**

 **Like it? Hate it? Review if you have the time :)**

 **A/N Dec 20 2015- Revised it a bit, so some sentences make more sense now.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A new chapter again! Ok now I have to edit the previous chapters, but first I have an English essay to write and a math test to study for.**

 **edit 08/07/2016**

 **So I switched the third and the second chapter because the timing was really messed up in the original one. I'm editing the new chapter 3 now.**

 **Word Count: 1329**

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Chapter 2

The fateful day came near my sixth birthday. I had been confined to the mansion for years and was finally allowed to venture out of the courtyard. I kept my distance from the nobles after they fit me inside this strange bubble helmet and astronaut attire. It was bulky, hard to move in, and I could understand why people thought most nobles were useless. Our mansion owned slaves and from what I heard, we were going to an auction house to buy some more. I was past the toddler stage of life and was thus deemed ready for such endeavour, in the pompous people's point of view. The mention of an auction barely trickled in my mind, vaguely reminding me of some show I watched a long time ago.

My hair was already done in a stuck up way, despite my protests, and the maid led me to the dining hall where the adults were doing their last minute check-ups. I knew that as soon I stepped outside, I would need to monitor my own behaviour closely as to not alert anyone. I wondered if I would get some slaves for myself. My parents gave me some money to spend, some being an understatement because it was more than enough to buy a house. They probably expected me to buy a servant or two for myself. I decided to abide to their wishes for the moment.

Strolling up and down the galley, I felt boredom quickly creeping into my mind. Boredom and I did not match well. It would mean that I would do something strange, something that I might regret. But I did not care. Boredom had led me to interesting things too, such as anime. Just as I began to daydream, servants came to alert me that we were ready to leave for the Sabaody Auction House. The name sounded extremely familiar in my mind and the reason why was at the tip of my tongue, yet I could not, for the life of me, remember why the word "Sabaody" evoked a feeling of apprehension and excitement in myself. I was in a daze the entire way to the Auction House and ignored my surroundings while trying to figure out why the name was familiar. As the double doors opened, I followed the nobles into the building.

It was big, it was dark, and it was scary. Those were my first and lasting impressions of the place. I resolved never to get caught here and felt sympathy for the people who were about to get auctioned off. Suddenly, I had the urge to take a peek of the backrooms. I told the parents that I was going to take a look at the slave room. They sniffed haughtily, but let me explore the place, leaving one bodyguard with me.

I followed some auctioneer carrying a fishman to the darkness of the backrooms. They left afterwards and did not come back, so I suspected that this was their last package. I sneaked inside with them and stayed in my hiding spot after they closed the door. I peered over the box I was hiding. People and creatures of all ages sat across the room. I looked around and caught the amused gaze of a bespectacled old man. I immediately ducked back under. When I cautiously peered back again, I found myself nose to nose with the guy. I let out a squeak of surprise and fell on my backside, my mask unclipping itself and rolling away. The dusty smell of the room assaulted me and I held my breath while reaching desperately at my mask. It was handed to me carefully by the man. I put it back on my head and tried to ignore him. He decided to speak first.

"Well, young lady, what are you doing here, on the slaves' side of the Auction House?" He stared at me from those glasses that reflected light.

I backed away from the boxes, suddenly aware of the people glancing at us. It must be a strange sight seeing a noble here.

"Ara, what do you mean? " I panicked inwardly, trying to be in character of my new lineage. "I'm just surveying which of you I want the most that's all!" I sniffed trying to look condescending, but only succeeding in looking as if I had a cold.

He chuckled and peered at me, looking amused.

"Why don't you take off your mask and join me on a short walk? I'll introduce you to some interesting people."

Now I knew one shouldn't accept offers from strangers, but I was a curious child. Plus he looked very familiar and something in me felt that he was harmless for now, so I trusted him to not kill me or anything. I followed him to the other side of the room where he was sitting beforehand, listening avidly as he pointed and introduced each slave to me. The distrustful looks were enough to make me shy away and stop him. "Ne, I'll just buy you ok, Ossan?"

He stopped and looked back at me. In the frail light of the slaves' cell, my mind suddenly registered why everything felt so familiar. The man looked like Rayleigh, that badass old man from One Piece. Where I was, Sabaody, was a place in that anime as well. The suit I was fitted in was exactly like the suits Celestial Dragons wore in One Piece. Oh gods I was a Celestial Dragon! Rayleigh's voice snapped me out of my stupor.

"Are you sure? Why would you want to buy an old man like me?"

Because you're the Pirate King's first mate, I wanted to say. Because you would help Luffy later in this story. Because I was selfish and I wanted to be strong and I didn't want to die. Because I want something away from life as a disgusting Celestial Dragon. But I didn't say anything. I stared back in a way only children could and tried to convey my meaning through my eyes.

"You're friendly!" Was my answer, as I tried to unleash my inner Luffy. Of course, since I wasn't Luffy, it didn't work out all that well. He stared at me and chuckled, but I was quite sure that he did not understand my reference. Most people didn't.

"How about someday, when you've grown up and seen the world for what it is, you can come back and buy me. We can chat about your adventures and have lots of fun." He smiled, but my mind didn't feel reassured. I remembered the hardships Luffy had faced, the dangers this anime that I was in had, the incomplete knowledge of this world I had, and Marineford. I shuddered, and slowly looked back up to Rayleigh to give me my negative answer. When I saw his eyes though, reassuring and wise through experience, I smiled back, hesitant, but feeling willing to take a shot at exploring this dangerous world. I knew I had to train to be strong. No more procrastination, no more hunching over a cellphone all day. A thrill of adrenaline shot through me as I looked past the dangers of this world and thought of the opportunity it provided me. I could do so many things, go to so many places, meet so many characters…!

Suddenly, I felt a dark presence behind my back and I spun around to see the family butler enter the room. He spotted me right away and came towards us. I turned to look at Rayleigh but he was already back to his seat on the boxes.

"Come with me, my lady," Butler bowed and led me away from the slaves. I looked back at them and saw their disgusted looks. I shivered, slightly frightened, but met Rayleigh's eyes with a fierce determination. I promised to myself that I'll become strong and come back to find Rayleigh before the Sabaody Arc started.

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 **End of chapter 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ahh... Finally done with the new third chapter ahaha. It changed a lot. In fact, this used to be drafted for the fourth chapter so I had to make some major changes. Maybe one or two other chapters before a timeskip of a few years! I'm not going to record all my development until the start of the One Piece plot, so I'll be skipping ahead a bit ahaha...**

 **Anyway, this is once again an exposition chapter, setting up for the action in the next chapter. I got lazy and didn't include any dialogues, sorry.**

 **edit Oct 11 2016: Oh yeah, I almost forgot! Credits to Xomniac's This Bites! Fanfic with the whole "good marine, decent marine" thing!**

 **Have fun reading!**

 **Word Count: 1,155**

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Chapter 4

I stood looking out towards the clear blue sea that surrounded the ship I was on. It has been many months since I left Mariejois. If I was still in my old world, it would be snowing by now. But the Grandline was frivolous and every island had its own weather. As it was, it still seemed like summer. Other than the cool breeze that would sometimes embrace me, the temperature was above 30 and I was dying of heat in the heavy outfit I was wearing. I felt that even the ridiculous stuck up hairdo I was forced to wear was drooping under the heat. Sweat washed my face, but I resolutely sprawled over the railings, staring off into the distance. In my past life I was not a very outdoor person, but here, the nature was beautiful and the air was so clean that I really wanted to go out of my bubble and see the world. I shouldn't complain about the weather then. It would be troublesome for my future adventures to be stopped by something like a desert.

After the surprise meeting with Rayleigh, I returned to the mansion and trained with all my might for the past two years in preparation to what was to come. It was strange, training in this world. Barring the occasional bouts of laziness, it was much easier to power up in this world than the one I came from. A month of training doubled my measly strength and half a year later, I found myself at the same strength as I would be if I were my original age. Albeit, that did not mean much since I would not have been prepared for this world if I had retained my older body. I studied diligently under tutors and left on my free time to find people around to teach me basic martial arts and some weapon handling. This time, I trained my flexibility that I ignored in my past life. I also signed up for fencing practices since nobles had little fighting classes other than fencing. Two years of training later, I decided that it was time to interact more with the owners of the mansion and to perhaps make a difference in the world of One Piece. The meeting left me disappointed. The first thing those Celestial Dragons told me was that I was to embark a fellow Celestial Dragon's ship and head to an island in East Blue to meet my betrothed. I did not even know I had a betrothed! Did they just expect me to be a submissive dog and take that news calmly and start preparing to become a married woman?! Apparently yes and that was that.

Sprinting as fast as I can in the heavy dress I wore indoors, I flung open the bedroom door, swung a comically large suitcase onto the bed and started throwing everything I was not willing to part with into it. Halfway through, I calmed down a bit and realized the absolute mess of a bag I made. Slightly embarrassed, I emptied everything back out and packed in my clothes, some towels, a first aid kit, and other necessities before layering the suitcase with the trinkets that I would not part with, including a list of all the events in One Piece that I could remember from my past life. This was right on time as the next week, the Celestial Dragons sent me off on a large ship and I began my voyage to Goa Kingdom.

Yes, Goa Kingdom. In the following week, I sneaked around the mansion, eavesdropping on the servant and the other visiting nobles, soon figuring out where exactly I would be going for the meeting with my betrothed.

I started tracking down characters I remembered through the newspaper that a newscoo delivered to the ship every day. Going by Rayleigh's older, but still rather young appearance and auction status, I suspected that the Roger Era was already over. Luffy was probably already born, but there were no news of Straw Hat pirates yet, nor were there any mentions of Ace, so it was most likely before the story-line of One Piece even started. Therefore, there were still at least a few more years to go, enough for me to train hard and catch up to the skills of at least the average pirate. After all, I've decided to become a pirate for now, because I knew that there was no way I would be following a corrupt government's orders like a good marine. A decent marine perhaps, but it would be too stiff at the Marine Corps. Besides what I was searching for was adventure and freedom. However, past knowledge limited my actions because while the Pirate King was said to be the most free person on the sea, in my heart I knew that it was Luffy's place and for the life of me, I couldn't steal the main character's dream.

I wanted to plan things out, but I knew from the anime how hard it was to predict everything. My birth could've changed everything, or it could've changed nothing at all. So I bought a notebook and hid it in my skirt. Everyday, I jotted down what I did and all I remembered from the old world. So if something went wrong in the future, I should be able to come back to the notes I made and pinpoint where the divergence was stuffed inside my suitcase, safe from the servants' eyes. I did not remember any important characters in East Blue mention a marriage contract. Maybe I should not have existed.

The more I planned, the more curious I got about the ASL brothers. I got most of my knowledge from fanfiction stories I read, but would the real thing be the same as what I pictured them to be? Should I even make any contact with them? I didn't think I should. I was not good with children back in my old world and I was sure that was something that did not change. If I did meet the whole ASL group, I probably would've punched them in annoyance or be beaten up or something. As my mind conjured more and more bizarre scenarios, I seem to distantly hear the call of the captain of the ship. We were nearing another island and would rest there for the day. I sighed in relief, thinking of the cool air the indoors would surely bring with it.

Getting to Goa Kingdom was nerve-wracking. I did not know what to expect. I did not know where in the timeline I was. The most shocking thing though, was when I realized that Sabo was going to die soon... and his killer was a Celestial Dragon on the exact same ship I was on!

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 **Please Read and Review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow, look at that, a quick update! I had a long week-end so I wrote some stuff. Also, wattpad people told me to just write till I was done the story before editing, so sorry if this is bad, I did not edit much of it.**

 **Maybe I should get a beta reader.**

 **Also, I have not watched the whole Ace's past thing after Ace died, so I knew how the brothers met but I only have a vague sense of how Sabo's death scene played out... so please tell me if I got some parts wrong in this chapter.**

 **Edit: A friend just told me that chapter 3 was confusing so I reread it and yeah, it is. So I will edit the last chapter and this one, because I forgot to mention about the suitcase.**

 **Happy Reading!**

 **word count: 1,080**

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Chapter 4

I did not actually realize the alarming fact that Sabo was going to die soon until I saw a little boat floating by the ship bearing the black flag of a pirate ship. I never saw the whole backstory after Ace's death, but I knew that Sabo had "died" after sailing out into the sea when a Celestial Dragon was passing by. Suddenly, it became clear to me to whom the name "Saint Jalmack", that was mentioned by the nobles, belonged to.

Ahead was Goa Kingdom. Near our ship was the small boat, its only passenger sporting a very familiar top hat and goggles. Further back I could see whiffs of smoke and fire. I look back in panic at Sabo's boat-

 **BANG!**

A shot rang out and the boat went up in flames right in front of my wide eyes.

 **BOOM!**

The boy on the boat, who was busy putting out the fire, was gone. The boat was covered up by a thick black smoke, and toppled over by a high wave. The mast snapped, the small pirate flag was carried away by the sea. A small hat floated up and down the waves, then sank back into the sea. No one came back up.

A surge of panic overwhelmed me! In the back of my mind, I knew that Sabo had survived this encounter, but what if… what if my arrival changed something? I knew the slightest change could create a wind strong enough to topple the foundation of what I thought to be true. What if the fact that I was on this ship, the timing of our arrival affected by an extra passenger, what if this made Sabo really get shot? What if Sabo drowned and died instead of getting saved by the Revolutionary Army? But what if he didn't? If I tried saving him… what if this body didn't know how to swim and I drowned both of us instead? What if this Celestial Dragon outfit I was wearing prevented Dragon from saving us? No, what if-

I did not need to make a decision, the universe made it for me.

As I leaned further above the rail to get a better view of the capsized boat, the ship rocked slightly with the waves created by the shots. I was standing on the thin railings, cursing my short size. As the ship moved abruptly, my footing slipped and with a scream, I toppled over the railings.

 **SPLASH!**

Cold water sucked me in, seeped into my mouth, filling it with a disgusting salty taste. Surprisingly, I was still conscious. I was light and did not sink too far down. Kicking my feet in a hurry, I rose up to take in a deep rush of air before paddling over to the capsized boat. Memories of swimming lessons from my previous life swept through my mind as I dove down in search for a wisp of blond hair, a sight of a white cravat. After a frantic search, I saw him.

Deeper down in the murky ocean water, a pale figure sank deeper into the darkness. In my hazy vision, I saw a bit of yellow sticking out from the floating darker mass of shadows. I dove deeper for him, my ears filling up with water, plugging and becoming more painful the deeper I went. With desperate hands stretched out before me, I grasped for the yellow color. My fingers closed in on hair.

I pulled at the hair until the pale face was closer to my own and kicked as powerfully as I could. I rose slowly, dragged down by my heavy clothes, an extra weight, and a lack of practice. Finally, I could see light reflecting on the water. I stuck my head out of the water to take in a deep breath and pulled the extra body into the light. I gasped in relief. It was truly Sabo.

He was a bit taller than myself and, as I went into a rescue position, his legs hung limply ahead of my own. I scissor-kicked as I was never all that good at the eggbeater. After that frightening, panic-hazed experience, we've found ourselves a good distance away from the ship I fell off from. Fortunately, we were closer to shore. Unfortunately, the shore was still a good few dozen meters away and I was not sure if I could support both my own and Sabo's body until we get there. Legs kicking still I glanced around for something closer that I could hang onto. From the corner of my eyes, I spotted a shadowy figure, standing on a part of the shore closer to myself. Against probably my better judgement, I swam towards that figure and as I got close enough, another person came up from behind them.

They looked vaguely familiar and I was angry at myself for not knowing who they were. What if they were an enemy?! What if they killed us instead of helping us?!

My legs were tiring beneath me and I could feel the energy draining away from me the longer I spend in the ocean water. I was almost there anyway. I gave up figuring out who they were and just pulled my head up and swam at them, tugging Sabo beside me with a firm hand underneath his chin. I could still feel a weak pulse from him, so I rushed towards possible safety. The closer and closer we got to the figures, the more I started feeling hope that Sabo would live for sure!

 _Kick, kick, kick._ Relentlessly, I kicked at the water, feeling my hold on Sabo weakening. Shit, one of the figures was gone, the other one stood still far ahead of me. Waves started obscuring my vision, but Sabo was still in my arms, possibly still alive. What if I killed him because I dragged him away from the current that would've brought him to the Revolutionary Army. The other figure also moved. They wore a hooded cloak and their face was obscured. I panted in exhaustion each time I ran out of strength to keep kicking. The figure moved, was it towards me? Or were they leaving as well?

"Help!" I shouted with the last of my strength, reaching out at the blurry figure. "Help us! Please! Help!"

 _Sabo, I'm so sorry you would die because of me. Dragon, or whoever you are, please don't leave us alone, please help, please don't turn away too, please, please, please..._

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 **Please Read and Review :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**word count: 1572**

 **Longest chapter so far I think. I got a beta! AnerianJames offered to be my beta. I posted this chapter before they read it though ._.**

 **Some stuff really need editing, but this is what I have for now. Good news: this fanfiction has passed 5k words~**

 **Thank you for all the reviews, favourites, and follows, I was very happy!**

 **Enjoy this chapter!**

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Chapter 5

When I came to, it was the feeling of warmth that first penetrated my senses. I clenched my hand, looking up at the ceiling in a daze. Wait. A ceiling!

I was no longer in the bone-chilling waves of the sea! We were saved! Or at least, I was.

I glanced around curiously and warily, not sure of my surroundings. I was in a dark room, there were no windows and the only source of light was from a dim lamp a few feet away from the soft bed I was sleeping in. The room had wood flooring, and I could smell some dust floating in the air. There was no one near me, either that or they were very well-hidden, completely silent. All I could hear was my own quiet breathing, though from the slight rocking inside the room, I could tell that I was not on flat ground, most likely in a boat, on the sea. What had happened after I fell unconscious? Was Sabo saved?

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. No, there's no way he was dead. But I needed to make sure of that myself. I stepped softly out of the blanket that enveloped me, reluctantly, leaving it behind. I shivered, slightly cold because I just realized that I was wearing nothing but a thin robe. I tiptoed lightly to the door, banging on a few objects along the way, silently cursing my poor night vision. I grabbed the doorknob, but decided against it, instead, choosing to lean in close and put my ear against the door. There were small footstep sounds getting further away from my position. When I could hear it no longer, I tried opening the door. No luck. It was locked.

Frustrated, I stared at the knob for a while before roughly kicking it. Nothing happened. I let out a growl and kicked the door as hard as I could. The door was wooden, but my small size made up for it. Despite having quite a bit of strength for my age, I was unable to do the cool cartoon thing, where the badass kicks the door open and everyone stares at them. Instead, all I managed to do was stub my toe in pain. I limped back to the bed and launched myself onto the bed then curled up in pain. That was not a good idea. I had completely forgotten that I might have gotten injured during that possibly unnecessary rescue attempt. Now that my adrenaline had worn off, I felt the full force of the throb in my head and the soreness of my limbs. I climbed in bed and fell asleep immediately.

Some time later, or at least I hope it wasn't too long after, I woke up again, feeling much more refreshened. I no longer had a headache even though my body wasn't feeling completely pain-free yet. I rolled out of bed and grabbed the lamp this time, perusing the room for something to open the door with. There were a few other lamps in the room, some chests and a desk in the corner. There was also a chair by the desk and a bookcase with no sign of books. I had an idea. I grabbed one of the long lamps and rammed it right against the door. A large bang sounded as I struck the wooden door. Bits of wood chips flew into my face and I jerked back in pain. On the bright side, the door was smashed open. On the down side… a young man stared back at me, eyes wide in shock, in his hand a brightly lit lamp temporarily blinding me.

I stared at him and he stared back.

…

"I'm not getting paid for this," he mumbled under his breath while tugging my arm harshly to follow him. I scrambled after him on my short legs, fortunately not tripping along the way. We walked down a narrow corridor. He stopped in front of a closed metal door and knocked hard on the door. Footsteps sounded near the other side before the door opened up a sliver. A eye, partially hidden by the door peeked out.

"Ah, she's awake?" a gravelly voice asked.

The young man nodded and the door opened a bit wider. I was tossed inside.

In front of me was a tall man cloaked in deep green, his face slightly shadowed but I could still see bits of tattoos sticking out from underneath the hood. The hand he held out to me was scarred, muscled and looked very strong. I hesitantly grabbed his hand as I pulled myself up. This was Monkey D. Dragon, Luffy's father and the leader of the Revolutionary Army. We were saved then. Or at least Sabo is. Whether the Revolutionaries would accept me as a Celestial Dragon is another thing altogether. Considering that I was wearing a completely different outfit, they probably saw the insignia of the Celestial Dragon member on me. I struggled to keep a calm face, but I started panicking inwardly.

We stared at each other for a while longer, but I was staring at his neck. I could not make eye-contact for long back in my past life and it seemed that the habit transferred over to this life as well. The room was bare, walls free of any decoration, floor void of carpeting or any object that could have littered around. It was a large room and I could not spot any cameras. Then I realized that advanced security cameras did not exist yet and was relieved for a slight moment. Dragon's voice pulled me back from my observation.

"If you're wondering where you are, we cannot tell you for now. You're a Celestial Dragon?"

The question carried a tone that suggested it was not really a question but just a phrase to indulge me. I was silent for a while, waiting for him to continue speaking but he didn't.

"...Ah...yes…"

"What is your relationship with Sabo?"

I started. It was a sudden question and it took me a second to remember that I was not supposed to know about him. I thought up of an excuse.

"Is he alright?"

"He is currently in bed, recuperating. So?"

"He's… supposed to be my… um... fiance…" I hesitantly answered, my mind swirling to connect the dots.

"Do you know him well?" Dragon inquired intensely.

I laughed awkwardly. "No, not really. I was heading to Goa to meet him for the first time."

"Why did you save him then?"

"..." I did not know how to answer that. We sat in silence for a while longer.

"I didn't know who he was...um, back then," I said, "but when the ship fired at him, I was afraid that he was going to die...well, he looked my age and I kind of felt a connection? Yeah, um, I didn't understand why the ship would try to kill him, like, he was innocent right? Besides, I was already on the deck, getting ready to debark and the sea just helped me dive in and save him. Seems like the girl just saved the guy, eh?" It was a story mixed with lies and truths but I could not tell him about my past life, so I settled with that. Formal ad libbing was not my strong point and I'm not sure if Dragon appreciated the informal way I addressed him.

He gave me a penetrating look. I stood ramrod straight before him, hoping he won't call out my lies. He sighed.

"Your "fiance" has amnesia. He won't remember you. Are you alright with that?"

"Y-yes!"

"Then we'll send you back to your Celestial Dragon parents. Are they in-"

"No, don't send me back!" This was a chance for me to be free ahead of time. I could throw away my heritage right this moment! If I could maybe convince him… "Don't send me back to them please! I'll stay here! I'll be a pirate! I can't return to those nobles who sold me off to be engaged to a stranger and who wants to school me into a doll wife!"

Dragon seemed to ignore my pleas. I grew desperate. Was his inconsideration the result of One Piece chauvinism? The belief that women were weaker than men?!

"I JUST WANT TO BE FREE!" My voice was hoarse. I had never screamed so much in this life. Tears dripped down, from anger, frustration, I did not know. My mind was in turmoil, I did not know what else to say. If he still sent me back, I would have to wait until I was 17, to officially become an adult Celestial Dragon before leaving home. I would have already been chained by marriage, expectations, probably nurtured into a submissive, haughty young lady that I was not willing to be.

Dragon slowly turned around to face me. He seemed to search for something in me that my pessimist self was convinced I did not have. After a minute, he dipped his head slightly, then opened a passage to his right.

"I have a proposition for you."

Beckoning me, he swiftly entered the passageway. I followed him, feeling a monumental change about to happen in my life.

* * *

 **Yay dialogues! I hope it wasn't too awkward... Warning: timeskip in next chapter.**

 **Please read and review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**TIMESKIP between this chapter and the last one! Thanks to my beta for the chapter titles!**

 **Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Word count: 1546**

 **Chapter 6: A Fiery Meeting**

"Yes, I know, chef, be careful and all that… Mhm. Yes. Uh… How did-? Right, ok, I see, he's planning on visiting this place? Today? Can I remind both of you how much paperwo- ahaha, exactly. Don't worry about me chef! Go hang out with your girlfriend or something."

I hanged up quickly to the sound of outraged denial. It was amusing, riling my chef like that. He was at the same age as me and I was not in trouble for disrespecting my higher ups or anything. It wasn't like I was part of the marine force. Instead, I settled around a year or two ago at a small store in Loguetown. The island was usually flooded with pirates and marines, it was like a tourist attraction. This helped with business a lot and I was always busy taking orders and working at the counter. On my days off, I went cruising in East Blue and trained my body. Other than the meet-up with Dragon seven years ago, I also met a few other One Piece characters. On my way to Loguetown, I passed by the Baratie restaurant, avoided Arlong's reign, and almost crashed into Smoker's marine ship.

My job now anchors me to shore but I knew that even after so many years, if given the chance to leave without much consequences, I would be gone in a breeze. There was no use pondering about it now that I have already agreed to Dragon's proposition. A jingle rang in the distance. I sighed in frustration and left the back rooms to greet whoever just entered the store.

"Hello, welcome to-" I started before freezing at the sight of who just entered the store.

A lithe young man, wearing a yellow shirt and shorts, stumbled through the door. Black curls stuck to his face due to sweat of the hot summer air out, and he collapsed in front of the counter. I peered over the edge and stared at him for a while. Loud snores resounded in the rather empty store. A very familiar orange cowboy hat was on the boy's head. I hesitantly got out from behind the counter and poked at his cheek.

*poke*

There were no response. I chuckled a bit awkwardly and decided that it kind of looked like a crime scene. So I dragged him far back into one of the storage rooms and quietly shut the door. I came back to the front, more alert for possible hostile entrances, but there were none. I straightened up some of the shelves distractedly before slowly heading upstairs to finish the reports due a few days ago that I had procrastinated since.

"Let's see… MC led a search in town about pouches stolen from innocent kangaroos. I was out at that time, but some Minions decided it was alright to barge into my house. I had to restock some of my items. -10 rep for them. At this point, your club might end up broke because of me…"

My reports were always like that, informal and narrative. I think the essays in my past life must have broke me.

Sometime into my second report, there were banging noises downstairs. I figured the resident pirate must've woken up from his narcoleptic dream. Cautiously, I made my way back to the storage room. I briskly opened the door and flung myself to the side. Ace tumbled out like a tumbleweed, crashing into the counter in a burst of fire. I chanced a peek at the room he used to be in. It looked very scorched. I had to call for maintenance again.

Did the guy already gain his Devil Fruit powers? I thought that he got them in Grand Line…

I was jolted out of my thoughts at the feeling of wind rushing towards me. I turned back just in time to get punched in the stomach.

"Ach!" Doubling up in pain, I crumpled down on the floor.

Whoosh… Bam!

A fist landed right beside my head. I looked up at a set of dark eyes glaring at me and gulped heavily. This might be my homeground but I'm not sure if my skills are enough to subdue this raging monster of flame. Deciding that maybe he just wanted answers for why I locked him inside a storage room, I exclaimed in faux cheer.

"Had a good nap, sir?"

He did not look happy.

I tried again.

"Um… I have food?"

"This might work on Luffy, but no, tell me why I shouldn't kill you for preparing to hand me over to the Marines."

Oh, that voice… How long had it been since I've heard a familiar voice? Also, where in the world did he get the idea that I was cooperating with Marines… After all-

"Oi."

I shivered, feeling a bit of his aura leaking over to me. Not good.

In a fit of panic, I said the first excuse that came to mind.

"You seem cool, can I join your crew?"

Oh shoot. It was too late to take it back. Ace knew that I knew that he was a pirate.

"WHAT?!"

I held out a hand. "I'm Cyd. Can I join your pirate crew?"

Ace's eyes narrowed and he turned very quiet. He stalked towards me, leaning in to get a better look at my face. He surveyed me for a while before slowly standing back upright. I pulled myself up as well, beaming at him, or at least trying not to grimace at my random decision. The young man stared at me for a bit longer before huffing and crossing his arms.

"You're not going to sell me out?"

"No… I wasn't planning that in the first place…"

"You can lift heavy things?"

I felt almost obligated to make a "Can-you-lift" joke, but the glare in Ace's eyes stopped me from making a sound. I nodded slightly.

"So, can I join your crew?"

He sighed aggravated. I clamped my mouth shut.

"What about your friends and families, aren't they going to miss you?"

I shrugged. I could vaguely remember the faces of the Celestial Dragons who sired me. The only ones who would care were in a completely different world. As for Loguetown, I couldn't risk interacting with other people too much, because I knew it was a town infested with pirates and marines. Who knew what a drunk villager could slip out…

I felt a bit hungry, probably from the recent stress I've been feeling. I turned and rummaged in my bag that was slung over a wooden hook. From there I pulled out to loafs of bread and tossed one over to Ace. He caught it and opened the package suspiciously. I sighed.

"I didn't poison anything. Here." I pulled off a piece and made a show of chewing it all thoroughly and pointing to myself, I exclaimed: "See? Not dead!"

He slowly took a bite out of the bread and, seeing nothing happened, gobbled it all up in under 5 seconds. He looked up to my face of disbelief. "What?"

Truth to be told, it was one thing to watch anime characters eating like crazy from a screen. But in real life, in front of me? It was extremely disconcerting. I waited for him to stop spitting things out before inching a bit closer.

"So-"

"If you're gonna join my crew, what useful stuff can you do?"

If this was me in my old life, I would be completely useless. However, in this life, I did not need to go to school, did not have tests to take, so my free time in the past two years was consecrated to training and exploring the seas. I learned the basics of navigating at sea and on land, I learned how to cook, how to fight, how to act like a normal civilian, and how to act like a posh, rich person. So instead, I answered:

"I can help you with the odd jobs. Just give me whichever position you need!"

With that, I ran upstairs to pack up everything. One has to note that anime world was not a bit like the world I used to live in. When I said pack up, I meant that somehow I was able to grab and stuff all of my belongings in two humongous bags and throw them out the window because they won't fit through the doorway. Ace just looked slightly impressed.

"Good, you have some strength in you. Is this everything?" he asked a bit impatiently.

"Yeah, I'll just close the shop for now, let me send a letter to the marines…"

Ace peered over my shoulder suspiciously as I penned a letter telling the patrolling Marines that I've closed the shop for the next year or two. He even snatched the finished product from my hands to look over it once more, making sure I was not selling him out. When all was done, I let him lead me out of what had become my home for the past few years towards the port where all the ships were gathered. We passed many large Marine ships and stopped in front of a quay. I took a look at the boat before me.

"This is-!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the newest chapter! Thank you for the new reviews (got a super long one ^ ^) the new favs and the new follows! This chapter is un betaed so please tell me if there are any mistakes :|**

 **Also, I'm going to add this later, but when Cyd fell into the sea, her suitcase also fell into the sea because she was getting ready to disembark the ship.**

 **Enjoy this chapter (I'll probably edit this later)**

 **Word count: 1522**

Chapter 7

Imagine entering a luxurious mansion expecting to be housed in one of those bedrooms with a king-sized bed, but when you opened the door, your room was the size of a closet.

That was how I felt when I first saw the boat Ace presented to to me. "Boat" wouldn't be the right term for it, rather, it bore more resemblance to a dinghy. I wondered how both of us would even even fit in it. I remembered that in the show, Ace had set off from Dawn Island with a decent sized sailboat and by Grandline, he had a normal sized pirate ship. So where did that dinghy come from? Did he run into trouble before meeting me? Did my meeting prevent him from acquiring a good boat? Come to think about it, in the short time together, Ace had not mentioned the name of a single other crewmate...

"This is your... boat?! Where are the rest of your crew? Were you looking for a shipwright or something?" I asked my new Captain skeptically.

"'Course not! You're the first guy to join my crew! I was looking for a First Mate… or, well, a cook."

The D brothers were siblings after all… I became more appreciative of the fact that I was not my old self since the responsibility I felt as the first crewmate was immense. What if I didn't stop Ace from doing something stupid and he got killed before the actual show even started? Would his death just appear as a flashback character death? I felt pressured to not let my new captain down.

"Right… Can we look for a shipwright next? I can cook."

"You?" He looked at me skeptically. "You don't look like a cook… but you can be my First Mate I guess..."

I glared at him and punched his shoulder. "I can cook better than you!"

I calmed down a bit when the second part of his sentence was fully processed. "Thanks though, I'll do my best to be a responsible First Mate." Inwardly I panicked a bit.

What do First Mates do? From the few crews that the anime went into detail with, I know that Marco had been a responsible First Commander who took care of welcoming rookies and keeping order on the ship. Zoro did nothing other than support his captain, sleep, and train. Beckman… I did not know him well but I heard he was very intelligent and kept Shanks in place. However, all pirate crews were different. Who knew what Ace expected of a First Mate.

With that, I huffed and threw all my belongings without care into the dinghy. The thing wobbled a bit before sinking at least two inches down. The waves lapped at the edge of the dinghy, the blue of the seawater spilling occasionally over the edge. There was a short uncomfortable silence as both of us stared at the vessel in dismay. I slowly looked back at a glaring Ace who stalked over and pulled everything out. The dinghy quickly sank under the sea. It seemed that my bag had crushed part of the dinghy.

"Time to go!" I spun away hollering as I dodged Ace's fiery strikes. We chased around the town, avoiding Marines the best we can. The landscape passed me in a blur as I ran like the wind away from the fireballs. Somehow, we managed to evade all enemies and crash into a house by the pier on the other side of the island. As we tried to untangle ourselves, a strong-looking man approached us, a dark aura behind him. He plucked us out from the wreckage and threw us outside the house. We tumbled down the remains of a front porch and more or less flopped down by fence.

"Hey brats! What are ya doing here?!" He had a murderous expression and had picked up a crowbar threateningly. I backed away while Ace shifted forward, his hand somehow gripping a pipe that came out of nowhere.

"I'm not a brat!" Ace responded hotly. "I'm a pirate!" I nodded along enthusiastically.

While the man continued grumbling about the disaster we created, I took that time to survey the surroundings. Scraps of metal and wood littered the ground and a few ships were anchored by the pier. The house was small, but a path led to a big yard where I could see the crow nest of a grounded ship. I sneaked away from the rising tensions towards the ship. I hopped over the fence and stared up at what seemed to be Ace's future pirate ship before me. I could already picture the Jolly Roger painted on the sails and hear the future rowdiness of a pirate crew. I peered back at the two men arguing with each other. It was approaching a full on fight by the time I've rushed back from my contemplations.

"Hey, hey hey," I tried to appease them. "We're just looking for a shipwright here! Our boat sank not too long ago, so can you direct us to a competent ship-"

"Are you saying I ain't competent for ya?" Well, no, I was not, but from the look on Ace's face, maybe I should've told him of my plan beforehand. I brightened up, channeling my inner-Luffy again.

"Ooooh! You're a shipwright? So coool!" I tried to do the eye shining thing that many anime characters did. All I succeeded in doing was making my eyes hurt and receiving a very disturbed look from Ace. I rubbed my eyes while Ace took over. He calmed down a bit and seemed to have been jolted out of his anger due to my bizarre 180 personality change. He bowed to the other man.

"I apologize for ruining your house and for my crewmate's weirdness-"

"Oi!"

"-since you are a good shipwright, we hope that you can build a new ship for us. We are sailing to Grandline, but our boat just sank. I hope you are willing to help us."

The guy wrinkled his nose at the formal language, but fortunately seemed to have calmed down as well.

"Alright, ya lads, since you asked so politely. I'll build ya a ship that'll last past Grandline! Ye'll see how competent I am then!" With that he turned and entered h

is yard. The sound of tinkering soon filled my ears. We poked our head out in the gateway to the yard.

"Er, how long would it take sir?" I asked.

He didn't reply. Ace cuffed me in the head.

"HOW LONG WILL THIS TAKE YOU?" He hollered at the man.

"A week at most," the shipwright replied without looking up. "I don't want ya to go wandering around with the Marines everywhere so just go to that cabin 'kay?" Ace still stayed behind stubbornly. I would've joined him on that, but I was hungry, so I took the opportunity to go explore the cabin by the sea.

The cabin looked cleaner and newer on the inside than the faded look it appeared on the outside. Perhaps the wind had worn down the layers of paint on its walls and the salty air of the sea discolored the rest of it. Inside, the cabin was a one room thing with a small fireplace for the winter and a single window. It had the appearance of a single man's room, with working tools hanging on the walls, a single armchair, a long bench along one of the walls and before it a sturdy wooden table. Shelves around the room was filled with trinkets and more tools. Not a single photograph was seen in the cabin despite its customized feel.

I walked a bit deeper in and saw that in one corner, there was a treasure chest that I found myself itching to open. Above it hung many posters. Bounty Posters. I shuffled a bit closer to take a better look. Some of the posters looked wrinkled and decades old, others seemed relatively new. "Red-Haired Shanks" "Whitebeard" "Silvers Rayleigh" All famous names of experienced and powerful pirates that we were sure to meet later on in either Paradise or New World. I thought back of my promise to Rayleigh so many years ago and wondered if I'd be able to keep it. All evidence of that time had probably sank along with the diary in my suitcase when I almost drowned to save Sabo seven years ago.

Struck by that terrifying memory of almost drowning, I turned away from the posters and hurried out the cabin. On my way out, I almost ran into Ace.

"Woah there!" Callused hands held me upright, fixing up my balance. I nodded up at him thankfully and fixed my hat back onto my head.

"Sorry 'bout that. You wanna go explore a bit?"

The answering grin was bright like the sun, so different from the demon Ace had claimed himself to be, back in the show. We laughed in synch and ran out back towards Loguetown, for a second wild and free like a spark of flame carried off in the wind.

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 **Please read and review :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**I swear that I'm cursed with something called the chapter 7 curse. At chapter 7, I hit a roadblock and I can't get over it. Also, usually by chapter 7, I'm out of the previous fandom craze, which was what happened to my Percy Jackson story. I've also been out of the One Piece fandom since the start of 2017 because of Hamilton and Marvel... Anyway, I had most of this written and I thank my beta for being so patient with me and reminding me about this story!**

 **Also, the next update won't be for a while, same with my other stories because I have exams in May and lots of stuff to do. It should cool down enough my June though.**

 **Anyway, rushed a bit here, but please enjoy chapter 8 of Freedom is All I Want!**

 **Word count: 1825**

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Chapter 8

It was not difficult to leave the shipwright's place without him noticing. What was really the challenge was to keep Ace from going into every single restaurant for food. He did not have a lot of money and my monthly allowance had not arrived yet. I didn't want us to be first known as the "eat-and-dash" pirates.

Loguetown was a mash of pirates and Marines despite the latter trying to suppress the former. It was a well-known place for most East Blue pirates to visit before leaving for Grand Line. Even crews from the other seas longed to go visit the place where the Pirate King was executed, the place where this new era of piracy had started. Thus, there were shops and restaurants around town catering to all kinds of people; pirates, bounty hunters, Marines, and simple villagers. I even knew of a few stores that welcomed revolutionaries, my own store having been one of them.

I had a lot of time in the past to properly explore the town. With the income I get every year, it wasn't difficult to go around and shop for the things I needed. I made sure to disguise myself every time, so no good marine would recognize me and report back to Mariejois. For the Celestial Dragons back in Grand Line, I was recovering from "trauma" of that accident from several years ago and had gone on a journey to find myself accompanied by my servants. It wouldn't do well to let them know where the servants really went nor that I was indulging myself, partying about in bars, gathering information.

This time, I realized that the shock of seeing another character from the show I used to watch, so close to me, had turned off my reasoning. Impulsively, I had asked to join his crew even though it wasn't canon at all and I would be totally exposed to the world. Yes, I wanted to explore the world and go on adventures, but I was not ready to interact daily with a character that I might get attached to and might die in...what, was it two years? Three years? Or maybe four…? Once again, I cursed myself for having lost that suitcase containing all the important dates I could remember. After the traumatic experience with Sabo's "death", I had moved on to try and find my belongings which I vaguely remembered to have slipped out of my hands during my fall. However, no matter who I asked, no one remembered finding a suitcase that matched the description. I wondered where it could be now… but I suppose it was probably lost at sea…

...

Back to Ace and I! After our "escape" from the shipwright's place, we ran freely around town to the docks by the sea. The sun was slowly setting already and we both flopped down ungracefully and enjoyed the view of the sunset. The sky, unlike the deep blood red color it was back during Sabo's accident, was now a beautiful shade of orange and yellow, with dashes of pink clouds floating above like a heavenly wreath. We hung around a bit more after the sun went below the horizon, but soon found ourselves hungry once more, though it was mostly Ace's stomach that complained about its emptiness.

The One Piece world was much more lenient about age limits than my previous world. Despite my age of sixteen and Ace, who probably just turned seventeen, the bar we went into let us in without a hitch. Once you've lived in Loguetown for long enough, there were specific places that you learned to avoid if you were a pirate, or you learned to stay away from if you wanted the town intact from a marine-pirate confrontation.

The bar that I led Ace into was a pirate bar, a low-key one at that, because I wasn't sure if having someone remember my captain's face before he even had a crew was a good thing. I didn't want someone to suddenly become curious about the newest rookie pirate and research too deep into him before I-no we- were ready. The barkeeper glanced at us disinterestedly, already used to the coming and going of local pirates, and approached us slowly, hands still mixing a drink for a nearby cowboy. That's right, One Piece had strange fashion sense. Here was a man who wore a cowboy hat like the old west movies, and there was this other guy who wore a straw hat and just looked like some farmer. Luffy, the future Farmer King.

Anyway, due to our age, we were determined to not look like complete noobs in the bar. Ace settled himself comfortably into the rickety old stool while I lounged on the slightly dirty counter. I raised a hand as casually as I could and called:

"Ya have some cola here?"

Ace followed with his own order.

"A tank o' Sam Adams, old man!" How risque.

The cowboy gave us an amused look but quickly took his drink and let the man serve us. The barkeeper frowned a bit, but came to us anyway.

"No trouble in my bar, hear that lads?" He warned us in a low voice before pouring a jug of cola into a glass and dropping a few cubes of ice in it. "Here ye go, simple and cool." I took the glass with a straight face and started chugging it down immediately. Ace stared at me, as though I was a completely different person. He was soon handed a tankard of beer and quickly chugged it down himself. It came to my attention that we hadn't drank a single drop of water since this afternoon.

When we had slowed down with our drinking, the cowboy who had been by the counter before us sidled up to Ace's side.

"Hey kid, what are you doing out here in Loguetown? I haven't seen you before!" he greeted while chuckling.

Ace looked at him appreciatively and eyed the way toned muscles showed on his bare chest. I myself was contemplating about where I saw that man before. The most likely answer would be that he was an original member of Ace's crew in the show. I decided to not interfere with Ace and the man's conversation.

"So?" the man inquired.

Ace grinned at him, fierce and determined. "We're going to be pirates! The best of the best!"

The man stared at him for a moment then burst out laughing to Ace's indignation.

"You kids heading to Grand Line then? Haven't seen boys this young heading over there alone for a while!"

"You've been to Grand Line?"

"Nah, but I've sailed close to the entrance. I can navigate pretty well on the sea ya know? Speaking of which, ye need some help with crew gathering? Dun think two's enough peeps to get to Grand Line unless you're plannin' on taking a long swim in the sea and never come back up!"

"Don't underestimate us! We'll take whatever's thrown at us!" I interrupted, ignoring my own decision. The man laughed harder.

"Oh you kids got some funk! Alrighty, if ya need a navigator, jus call me 'kay?" He slowly got up and ambled out the door, clearly a bit drunk from the tankard of liquor he just drank. Ace looked at his back contemplatively. He pondered for a while, waiting for the man to leave our view, before turning to me.

"Can you navigate?"

"Ahaha, no."

"Damn. Guess we'll take his offer eh, Cyd?"

I shrugged. "Whatever you say Cap, I say we go after him now before he's left Loguetown."

Ace and I got up from our seat and I stretched a bit, feeling out the kinks in my body.

We rushed out of the bar (after paying) and Ace spotted the guy from before. It was very easy to find him as unlike my assumption of him leaving, the man was leaning against a wall of an imposing house, clearly asleep. Ace marched over and swung him onto his back.

"Alright, let's go back."

I stared at him incredulously. He raised an eyebrow. "We don't want to lose him right?"

"Errr yeah?"

"So, we'll just bring him along."

I decided not to note out loud that this may not paint the best picture of ourselves and we could technically be called 'kidnappers' in this situation. So instead of doing the lawful thing of leaving him in a safe place, I went along with my captain's idea. Ace refused my help to carry the poor guy and took in a deep breath before sprinting out towards the shipwright's place, leaving me in the dust of his wake. I doubled over immediately, coughing, and attracted the attention of a few Marines in the area. One of them even hobbled over.

"Hey lad, are you alright?"

I coughed a bit more, but waved my hand reassuringly.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I will be okay. Just… not… liking… the taste of… dust!" He looked at me a bit concerned, but went back to his fellow Marine comrades to patrol.

I caught my breath for longer than a minute without coughing and decided that I was fit to leave their presence as soon as possible. I've become an aspiring pirate and an accomplice to a kidnapper after all.

By the time I was back the lonely cabin on the hill, both Ace and the shipwright were eyeing each other, the drunk, unconscious cowboy guy still over Ace's back. I came over, carefully taking him from Ace and laying him out on the side. I crouched down and watched what was happening between the other two men.

It didn't seem like an argument I would like to get into. Basically, Ace was trying to get that shipwright to hurry up, so we can set sail already, but the man was adamant in taking a week at least to build that ship. Also, I'm pretty sure Ace wanted him on our crew too. Way to make an impression, huh. Surely though, I could see the other guy's resistance slowly melt away. The D. brothers sure had that effect on people.

The cowboy guy woke up a day later and introduced himself as Davy J. Boy. Well, that was an easy name to remember. Contrary to our shipwright's stiff acceptance to join our crew, Davy was very enthusiastic in helping us with the navigation of the ship in our journey. Once that was settled and the ship was done being built, I drew up our flag from the vague memory I had of it. After receiving the complete approval of Ace and the rest, we took only a day to pack up everything, mostly the shipwright since he was not planning to sail with us until three days ago.

A few hours later, we were gone, setting sail towards the marvelous Grand Line, thoughts of adventures already on our mind.

* * *

 **I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY!**

 **please R &R if you can forgive me...**

 **I rushed through the ending here because I was hitting a block and I had this giant gap in my "planning" where I jump right to slightly pre-canon.**


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